[amsat-bb] Re: Volunteered

[Bill Ress]

Hi Mark,

Thanks for your comments and your offer to volunteer.

Why don't you contact me off line and we can talk about your specific 
interests.

Regards...Bill - N6GHz

Mark Lunday wrote:
> Chiming in, after watching this go back and forth and feeling frustrated
> here.
> 
> The issue here is about holding volunteers accountable as if they were paid
> staff.  It's about expectations as well.
> 
> Noone is questioning whether the volunteers worked their butts off.  What
> we're talking about is that the AMSAT community (at least some, anyway) have
> an expectation of performance equivalent to what would be provided by
> full-time paid staff.  Well, as long as it's volunteers only, that
> expectation is not reasonable (IMHO).  None of the volunteers can provide
> that kind of support day-in and day-out.  Holding volunteers to that
> standard is, in my opinion, a mistake.
> 
> Having said that, what AMSAT volunteers have accomplished is SO FAR ABOVE
> what a normal volunteer organization achieves, that it BOGGLES THE MIND.  I
> have been an AMSAT member for 18 months and active on satellites for about
> as long.  To see what has been achieved by volunteers, spanning across
> geography, is AMAZING.  The ability to ask ANY question about satellites in
> general and AMSAT in particular on this BB, and get an accurate response in
> a timely fashion is impressive.  The collective intellectual capital and
> horsepower is deep and very valuable.
> 
> And THAT'S the issue!  We're so accustomed to outstanding performance on so
> many things with AMSAT that we start *expecting* above and beyond in all
> cases.  That's not always realistic.
> 
> I had a few 1:1 threads with some folks about this over the past few days,
> and I think we could address some of the problems if we had a paid position
> or two. I understand that this is being presented to the ARRL in the near
> future (additional funding support)
> 
> Another side note: it sounds like more communication/interaction would help
> clarify some of these questions and concerns.  Regular status reporting on
> progress for specific projects would help the community understand:
> (1) the progress
> (2) the risks
> (3) the level of effort provided by the volunteers
> (4) opportunities for additional input for addressing problems (leveraging
> some of that powerful intellectual capital and horsepower in our community).
> 
> 
> Meanwhile, as a project manager w/ PMP cert, Electrical Engineer, and a 35
> year ham with military background, I am raising my hand as a volunteer for
> helping with the planning of future AMSAT projects
> 
> Mark Lunday
> WD4ELG
> Hillsborough, NC - FM06kb
> wd4elg at arrl.net
> http://wd4elg.net
> http://wd4elg.blogspot.com
> 
> 
> 
>